The Investigation of the Selected Parameters of Catalysis on the Effectiveness Factor of MTBE Synthesis in the Case of a Pellet Catalyst

Abstract

The influence of selected parameters on the effectiveness factor of catalyst particles for the synthesis reaction of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) from methanol and isobutene is analyzed. The catalyst is the sulfonated ion-exchange resin Bayer K2631. To this aim, the mass and heat balance equations that are presented as a system of differential equations, has been solved by means of the commercial mathematical software MathCad, for which a tailor - made program has been created. Four chosen parameters (tortuosity, particle radius, methanol to isobutene molar ratio and temperature) have been considered to carry out the calculations. The obtained results have been analyzed and presented in a graphical form. They show that the effectiveness factor can be equal, lower or higher than unity depending on the value of the considered parameters. The effectiveness factor is mainly dependent on mass and heat diffusional limitations at certain reaction conditions.